Art: A human striving to reflect, add to, or alter the work of nature and the divine. Angel: Messenger of the divine. Angelix: the acts of angels. Art Angelix: What I do.

Saturday, October 28, 2006

Quest - Slide Frame Box

I'm still trying out (craft) projects that use slide frames, and this is one of the latest. The box is recycled. It originally held thin chocolate slices. (If you're in Germany: Penny Markt - "Karina" Hauchduenne Taefelchen. For around 70 cents you get a boxful of it's-not-Lindt-but-it's not-bad-either soul food plus some useful material.)

I covered the box sleeve with a layer of newsprint followed by a second layer of plain white tissue. I tend to leave the ridges and crinkles in, as they add a little bit of texture. I then painted half of the box with a gold wash and the other half with a bronze wash. When it was dry, I dry brushed the ridges with the contrasting metallic (gold on bronze and bronze on gold). The degree of effect that creates varies, depending in the height an density of the ridges. In this case the ridges are low and widely spaced, so the effect is subtle.

The marbling on the frames was done with Ranger Alcohol Inks and blending solution. The letters on the sleeve are from a child's game, and the images on the inside are Zetti images printed in transparency sheet. You could use photos instead, of course, and you could add a little handmade journal to the box along with, or instead of, the pictures.

The paper on the inside of the tray is by Basic Gray. The card from which the tray is made is fairly glossy, so I decided to dab Ranger Ink onto that, too, and was impressed with the outcome.

These boxes can be quickly and easily made. I'll probably make a few as Christmas gifts. Other than that I'll be more likely to make artified versions, of course, with lots of stuff stuck on, like bits of wooden or metal rulers, beads and wire, game pieces as turrets, and so forth. I think this project would be a lovely project for a relaxed afternoon arty party with friends. Even kids could do this successfully.

1 comment:

Hi SusanI'm loving your slide frame artwork! You are right, this seems like a great way to spend a relaxing afternoon - especially now that the fall weather is starting to look more and more like "winter on the way weather" Lee

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About Me

I'm in the best years of my life, in what is usually called "midlife".
I'm English, and I live in the north of Germany, and I sometimes still wonder how I got here from there.
One of the things I used to hear often as a kid was that I had too much imagination. That tickles me pink when I think about it now, because I've lived off my imagination and my wits for most of my life, and I bet I have more fun and better toys that most of the other kids from way back then, these days.